Summer Fun Giveaway from CSN Stores

Have you checked out CSN Stores, yet? They have everything you will ever need from dining room furniture, bedding, and shoes to pets, school supplies and so much more! With over 200 + stores you will find a variety of what you are looking for all in one place.

CSN Stores is making some buzz around the blogging world with their giveaways and is generously sponsoring this month's Summer Fun Giveaway with a $40 gift certificate to spend in any of their stores.

How to Enter?

• (Mandatory Entry)  Leave a comment below telling me what you would spend the $40 on at CSN Stores.

Want Some Bonus Entries?

• ***NEW***(1 entry) - Sign up for my newsletter. Leave a comment with the email you signed up with. (this is new as of 8/25/10)
• (2 Bonus Entries) Facebook, Twitter, or Blog about this giveaway. Leave a link in your comment.
• (3 Bonus Entries) Participate in the Summer Fun Challenge for August. Leave a comment below and tell me if you left a link on the Summer Fun Challenge for August or you emailed me pictures.

Leave a separate comment for each entry! Do one or all of the bonus entries! HAVE FUN!!!

You must complete the mandatory entry first before any bonus entries will be counted. Since I am behind, this giveaway will close on Septeber 6, 2010 at 11:59 pm. Winner will be notified by email and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. Open to all...**Note: There may be shipping charges or international fees in the case of Canadian addresses associated with your purchase with your gift certificate at CSN Stores.
Disclosure: I received no compensation from CSN Stores. The opinions expressed are solely my own. If you are interested in contacting CSN stores to see if they want to do a review or giveaway with you,you can contact Jessica at CSNPromoTeam (at) csnstores (dot) com.

Summer Fun Challenge - August - Make a Cool Treat

I do not know about anyone else, but August just came flying at me this first week. Family visiting, birthdays, end of summer parties, babies to visit...too much fun for one week! Summer break is coming to an end and I am sure everyone is busy surviving the heat and getting ready for school.

This month's challenge: Make a cool treat!

Make a cool treat of your choice and show off the fun you had making it with your family with the link-up at the bottom of this post (or email me pics if your blog is private). Do not forget to go over to the August Giveaway for your chance to win a $40 gift card. 

We have been having lots of fun making our own popsicles this summer. Here are a couple of our favorite recipes.

Root Beer Float Pudding Pops

What You Need:

• 1 box Vanilla pudding - 4 serving or 6- it just depends on how strong of a vanilla flavor you want it.
• 1 cup vanilla ice cream - Bryers now carries Lactose free, if you need it, and it is really good
• 1 cup milk - lactose milk also works
• 1 cup water (may want a little more if you use the 6 serving box)
• 2 -3 tsp root beer extract - depending on how strong of a root beer flavor you want
• Popsicle mold or cups - size is your choice!

*makes about 8 popsicles

Directions:

Step 1: Combine all ingredients together.

Step 2: Mix everything together. In a blender is quick, but messy to get out once mixed and in a bowl uses extra energy!

Step 3: Put in cups or popsicle mold Freeze for 1.5 hours and then place sticks in, if you do not of the sticks that come with the mold. Will be solid after 4 hours and even better overnight.

Step 4: To remove from cup/mold, run cup under warm water for at least 15 seconds to help remove the popsicle. It usually took me longer than 15 seconds. A good squeeze or 2 to the sides helps and I knew I was close once I could see a few tiny air bubbles. Do not do it too long or it will melt the popsicle! =)

Step 5: Eat and Enjoy or remove and package them separately in plastic baggies with a tie to enjoy later. I am going to make a ton and stock up. We cannot keep these around long enough!


Here is another fun recipe:

Fruit Pudding Pops

What You Need:

• 1 package pudding
• 2 cups milk
• 1 cup vanilla ice cream
• Chopped up fruit

Directions:

Step 1:  Mix milk and pudding together. Add chopped fruit. The strawberries were so yummy....possibly better than the root beer pudding pops! We had some pudding/ice cream/milk mix set aside from making the Root Beer Pops. That is why we have the small containers.

Step 2: Put pudding mix in popsicle molds and place in freezer. After 1.5 hours insert popsicle sticks (if needed) and wait for 4 hours to eat. Yum, yum, yum! 

Enjoy!!!!

Summer Fun Challenge Giveaway from USANA

This month's Summer Fun Challenge is being generously sponsored by Shonda from The Knowlton Nest.








Since this month's Summer Fun Challenge is "Go Take A Hike" Shonda thought some of her products from her USANA store would be a nice fit. Shonda sent me the USANA Nutrimeal Shake in chocolate and she even included a BlenderBottle. If you are looking for a great great nutritional shake, look no further. First, I have to tell you this is the best tasting shake I have EVER had! It seriously tasted like chocolate cake batter. Way too naughty to actually be healthy, right? Wrong! It has 8 grams of dietary fiber, 15 grams of protein, is low in saturated fat and is even low glycemic. This shake also come in Vanilla and Strawberry.

I really like the BlenderBottle she sent, too. It has this nifty little whisk ball inside it called a BlenderBall. It helps to mix up the shake so it is nice and smooth. I have had a hard time drinking most shakes because of the texture, but I had no problem after mixing up the shake in this bottle.

Shonda also sent us some Usanimals vitamins for my children to try. My kids have never been big vitamin eaters, so they were a bit hesitant to try these, but once they saw the animal shapes on them, they were sold! Each time I give them one, they ask for more, so I have to hide the bottle! These vitamins are rich in antioxidants, nutrients, supports healthy immune function and they are easy to chew. It is nice to know that my children can get the nutrients from these vitamins that they miss out on when they are being picky vegetable eaters.

 

Today Shonda is giving away

one USANA Nutrimeal Shake of your choice with a BlenderBottle and a bottle of Usanimals Vitamins. Over a $50 value!

How to Enter?

• (Mandatory Entry) Visit USANA and leave a comment below telling me another product you would like to try.

Want Some Bonus Entries?

• (2 Bonus Entries) Facebook, Twitter, or Blog about this giveaway. Leave a link in your comment.
• (3 Bonus Entries) Participate in the Summer Fun Challenge for July. Leave a comment and tell me if you left a link on the Summer Fun Challenge for July or you emailed me pictures.

Leave a separate comment for each entry

You must complete the mandatory entry first before any bonus entries will be counted. Giveaway will close on July 31 at 11:59 pm. Winner will be notified by email and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. Open to all USA residents.

P.S. I found an amazing giveaway website called GiveawayScout. It has an extensive list of giveaways all over the web. Check them out at http://www.giveawayscout.com/

Summer Fun Challenge - July - Go Take A Hike

Thank you for all who participated in last month's challenge. I hope you had fun because I did just looking at your pictures! Are you ready for another Summer Fun Challenge? I know I am!  This month's challenge is being sponsored by Shonda from The Knowlton Nest.

My family recently discovered this fun little hike that ended up at some really cool waterfalls. We had so much fun we are planning on taking a few families with us later this month to share with them this wonderful trail. It is perfect for younger children because it has no big ups and downs and it has a lot of wonderful things to look at along the way.

We had fun looking at all the beauty of the outdoors

And we had a great destination to aim for...

...a little waterfall...

...and a big 40 ft waterfall.

And I think my children's favorite parts are the snacks they get to eat along the way!

There are probably some great trails near your home or within a short drive that you do not even know about. Take advantage of the many resources around you to find a good hike that matches your family's abilities. There are maps at your city/town's Visitor's Center, there are Park Ranger's, which I'm sure are full of information, and there are always your friends, neighbors, and family that you can talk to and see what they know is around. A great resource for us to find fun family friendly hikes has been from the employees at our local university's Outdoor Rental Center. They are usually outdoor enthusiasts and know of all sorts of places within 3 hours around us.


So, for this month's challenge... Go Take A Hike


To Participate:

1. Take a "hike" with your family AND take some pictures of your adventure. It doesn't have to be a tough hike, it could be a local nature trail if that is what works best for you. Just get outside and enjoy nature!
2. Post it to your blog AND leave a link below. If you do not have a blog (or just do not want to link to it) email me your pictures to funonadime@gmail.com

Want to win a fun prize for your participation?: Check out the giveaway generously donated by Shonda to be rewarded for your participation in the Fun Challenge.


Wherever you go make sure you take plenty of water and healthy snacks to keep everybody's energy up!

Let the fun begin!!!


p.s. If you are interested in sponsoring August's Fun Challenge, please contact me.